History buffs who know their stuff: Re-enacting history

It's the closest you'll ever come to Knights, Roman Legionaries, and Napoleon's men in the 21st century. History buffs who know their stuff will invade Fort Lytton National Park to re-enact their century of choice this June Long Weekend.

It's the closest you'll ever come to Knights, Roman Legionaries, and Napoleon's men in the 21st century, and its big business in Queensland.

Each year thousands of people in Queensland alone transport themselves back to their century of choice to re-enact history.

Civil War re-enactment is a popular American tradition, but in Australia living history re-enactment brings a range of time periods to life; from Ancient Rome to the Vietnam War.

Queensland has over 120 individual re-enactment groups, the greatest number of Living History organisations in Australia.

Matthew Bartlett belongs to one of the 60 member groups of Queensland Living History Federation (QLHF) where he regularly dons the gauntlet and jousting amour to re-enact life in the 15th Century.

At 14 he began exploring the world of medieval re-enactment.

"I was doing history through school and I was introduced to another event - the Abbey Medieval Tournament," he says.

After his initial introductions Matthew joined the Company of the Phoenix, and now considers himself a Medieval re-enactor.

The QLHF began in 1997 and has grown to almost one thousand members. Matthew says the popularity of living history groups is due to our fascination with history.

"There's a common interest in, not just the history of everything, but there's all different facets that interest people - religions, merchants," he says.

On the June Long Weekend the QLHF will invade Fort Lytton National Park for the History Alive: A Journey through Time multi-period re-enactment that will cover a 2000 year span of history.

Event Coordinator, Karis Bouher says, "This is the most unique re-enactment event staged in Queensland, with nearly 400 performers, a host of authentic vehicles and cannons as well as a diverse range of exciting re-enactments to entertain the crowd".

She says the multi-period re-enactment will be a three-dimensional history lesson for people who want to know more about living history organisations.

"They'll see everything from the Ancient Romans, right up to World War 1 and World War 11.

"Its daily life for many of these people, many of the groups get together on the weekend and they set up their camps at home and life the daily life.

"There's a group called 'Pax Romana' - they'll set up their own camp, they'll do gladiatorial combat and a lot of the groups will cook in their encampment to really show people what life was like back then," she says.

She says Fort Lytton, a 19th Century fort, built to defend Brisbane from attack is the perfect background for this historical event.

"Fort Lytton is gorgeous; it's one of Brisbane's best kept secrets, because like you said not many people have heard of it or have been there.

"It was built in the 1880's to defend Brisbane from invaders - the Russians in fact! But it was in use up until the Second World War," she says.

The Fort is home to two original 64-pounder muzzle loaded guns and a restored "disappearing gun" which could be raised to fire of the ramparts and would "disappear" when not in use.

Karis says the re-enactment will start at 10am on Saturday and Sunday beginning with the firing of the '64-pounders'.

Gates open at Fort Lytton National Park at 9:30am on Saturday and Sunday.